Miami, Football and Family

MIAMI — What’s up, everyone? I’m coming to you from sunny South Florida. The great thing about being in Miami is that I can watch Venezuelan TV and Winter Ball games. It makes me feel like I am home. It has been a very good week for me. I had a great time at the Bears game last Thursday. Even though the game was kind of boring, it was great to tailgate with family and friends. It was good to see my youngest son, Ozney – who I don’t get to see a lot of — and one of his best friends and hopefully future MLB star Manny Machado. The Orioles are lucky to have him (watch out for this kid). That was the first time I had ever tailgated, and it’s easy to see that no one travels like Chicago fans. I want to say thanks to all the fans who saw me and came up to say hi. I was happy to take pics and sign autographs for everyone I could. It was so weird being in the stadium and not knowing where home plate was supposed to be! And contrary to some reports I heard, I was not wearing any football gear. I tried as best as I could to wear neutral colors. I will say that Florida fans can learn a lot from Chicago fans!

Here are some of the pics from the game:

A lot of people have been asking me to talk about the trade rumors that were out there involving me, so I thought I would address it once and for all. I want to first say I don’t know too much more about the rumors than anyone else. When I first heard of it, I felt very proud. It’s always good to feel wanted. When you’re a coach, you never think of your name being mentioned in a trade with some of the best future players in the game. At the same time, I felt very confused. Even though I’ve never considered myself untradeable like Michael Jordan, I never really thought the White Sox would consider trading me for anything. As far as I’m concerned, I am still proud to continue to work for the White Sox, and I will continue to do so with the same work ethic, attitude and passion I always have.

Make sure you keep asking me any questions you want. I will be answering more later this week. Don’t be scared!

Ozzie, first of all thank you for your bringing excitement back to the White Sox. Secondly, thank you for 2005. My father was a lifelong White Sox fan and I was so glad to see him watch his team win it all before he passed away in 2009.

I’m excited but concerned about all of the holes in the roster leading into 2011. With the youth movement sweeping across MLB, do we have the players in the minors to step in and replace the production we could lose if our free agents choose not to come back?

Meta

The following are trademarks or service marks of Major League Baseball entities and may be used only with permission of Major League Baseball Properties, Inc. or the relevant Major League Baseball entity: Major League, Major League Baseball, MLB, the silhouetted batter logo, World Series, National League, American League, Division Series, League Championship Series, All-Star Game, and the names, nicknames, logos, uniform designs, color combinations, and slogans designating the Major League Baseball clubs and entities, and their respective mascots, events and exhibitions.